When you see the perfect, flawless faces of female celebrities in the limelight, you are actually seeing the hard work of their expert makeup artists. “Celebrity makeup tips” usually come straight from their artists (not the celebrities themselves). These artists have the world of best makeup at their feet, any best product or tool at their disposal. So what is the best eyeshadow brand, as preferred by the makeup artists? But most importantly, is that so-called best eyeshadow brand actually safe for the celebrities’ and ordinary women’s skin and overall health? Should us, health-conscious young women actually trust the heavily marketed “best” brands and use them in our makeup routine? Check out the industry’s top 10 options rated for cosmetic ingredients safety and performance:

10. Dior – Their shadows are silky, with plenty of pigment. The shadow quads are particularly popular, with beautiful colors expertly designed to work together for the perfect eye (from natural-looking all the way to bold and smokey). However, the eye product they are really known for is the unfortunately toxic ingredients-containing Diorshow mascara. Its buildable, creamy formula has won multiple awards and is a backstage phenomenon for creating a “false lash effect.” Note, however, that although Dior made our list of best eyeshadow brand options for makeup artists, do consider the fact that many of their cosmetic products contain potentially dangerous for health chemical ingredients, so before you choose to buy one, check the ingredient safety rating on EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Safety Database (free online), to avoid any potential skin and general health risks.

9. Make Up For Ever – In production for over 25 years, and created by renowned makeup artist/painter/sculptor, Dany Sanz, MUFE offers everything from extremely waterproof liner to metallic eyeshadow, and everything else under the sun! Moderate price point and long-wearing durability, but rated as medium health risk (6 out of 10) by Skin Deep for its cocktail of carcinogenic and highly toxic parabens! Rated at number 9 on our top best eyeshadow brand options for makeup artists.

8. Bobbi Brown – She began as a makeup artist who could not seem to find a quality makeup that looked natural on all complexions. In 1991, she launched her own line based on the beauty of natural-looking makeup, and it’s been booming ever since. Excellent range of finishes and colors,very good wearability and moderate price point. However, given that it contains a cocktail of parabens, and potentially irritant Laureth-4 and bismuth oxychloride in some, we place this best eyeshadow brand for makeup artists at number 8!

7. Kevyn Aucoin – Kevin made a name for himself as a makeup artist to the celebrities, with eye makeup techniques that pretty much qualified as art work. Sadly, he passed away in 2002, but his genius lives on in his products. Geared toward professionals, this higher price point (eye shadows at $50 and up), less readily-available to general consumers (mostly in high-end department stores such as Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, and Barneys, and on his website, http://www.kevynaucoin.com/), may not be justified once you note the toxic parabens, aluminum powder, and other cosmetic ingredients on the label…

6. Laura Mercier – Another instance of a painter-turned-makeup-artist-turned-cosmetic-giant, Laura Mercier eye products are luxe and lovely, ranging from muted to bold, but all within a natural palette. This is one of the best eyeshadow brand options with medium health hazard rating that have a higher price point and are featured in high-end department stores and online.

5. Kryolan – A true professional makeup line developed in Berlin over 60 years ago, these products are generally only available to makeup artists, and are widely used in film, TV, and theater. With over 16,000 products and 750 shades, a makeup artist could never get bored with Kryolan! You can find some of the eyeshadow products for sale to the general public on Amazon or Ebay, and on theatrical supply sites such as www.camerareadycosmetics.com, fxsupply.com, and cosplaysupplies.com. Moderate-to-high price point, but beware an extensive list of toxic cosmetic ingredients, from parabens and fragrance to PEG-150 and propylene glycol, which places this contender for the best eyeshadow brand for makeup artists right in the middle of our list of best eyeshadow brands for makeup artists.

4. MAC – From makeup, to professional products, to tools, and even false eyelashes, MAC and MAC PRO is many an artist go-to for glam. With close to 200 pigment colors, textures, and finishes, it was chosen as the eyeshadow brand of choice for The Hunger Games, where Ve Neill created Jennifer Lawrence’s dramatic pre-game looks as Katniss Everdeen (also using Urban Decay Urban Lash False Lashes and Paperself eyelashes). However, with so many health-related risks associated with the harsh cosmetic ingredients (from cancer-causing parabens found in mascaras to allergenic phenoxyethanol preservative), we give MAC a rating of 4 of our list of the best eyeshadow brand options for professional makeup artists.

3. NVEY – Since 2005, has been “revolutionizing” the concept of “natural beauty” via…well, commonly practiced among cosmetic brands, false marketing… Their products are sold as all natural, all organic, never tested on animals, and provide amazing performance. In reality, however, while NVEY’ ingredients in makeup products are mostly natural, they also contain a few pretty risky and allergenic chemicals such as benzyl alcohol and salicylic acid. With a Skin Deep health risk rating of 3 out out of 10, we place this “almost all natural” entry to our list of best eyeshadow brand options at number 3!

2. Josie Maran – Using what claims to be organic and natural cosmetic ingredients, Josie Maran has created a line of luxury makeup and skincare products that is becoming more and more popular with the celebrity set. Beautifully coordinated color palettes, infused with Argan Oil, these may be a strong contender for the title of of best eyeshadow brand for makeup artists…if the brand actually used strictly organic and natural cosmetic ingredients. From allergenic titanium dioxide and hexylene glycol to potentially cancerous tocopehryl acetate, Skin Deep Cosmetic Database gives Josie’s eyeshadow palette a rating of 3 out of 10 (low end of medium health risk), placing it to number 2 on our list of best eyeshadow brand options for makeup artists, for a good effort at pushing towards safer cosmetics!

1. Smashbox – Offers dozens of camera-ready, high-performance, very colorful eyeshadow selections. Moderate price point, and widely available to the public, this brand is on the safer end for cosmetic ingredients risk, although not for every product. A skin health-conscious buyer may be pleased with the Smashbox Masquerade Eye Shadow Palette, rated as low health risk of 1 by Skin Deep, thus crowning Smashbox as our best eyeshadow brand for makeup artists winner!

Surprisingly, there isn’t one specific “best eyeshadow brand,” but dozens. What differentiates them, however, are the amounts of toxic or safe cosmetic ingredients used, so be a sin health conscious shopper and let’s change the way makeup artists approach cosmetics one safer makeup brand at a time!